


dongbangappas | shopping date

by plincess_cho (ai_hao)



Series: DongBangAppas [3]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Author: Ai, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 16:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8293186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_hao/pseuds/plincess_cho
Summary: Changmin takes Minseo to the mall and runs into Dr. Jung.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [madamteatime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamteatime/gifts).



> Inspired by madamteatime's suggestion for a continuation of the other fics in the series.

It’s a rainy day in late October, and the weather is finally starting to cool. Changmin initially plans on spending his day off from work and Minseo’s day off from school lounging around their apartment watching television, but when Minseo pulls on the only non-school-uniform clothes she has that fit (a tutu and an LG Twins jersey), Changmin realizes that it’s time to go to the mall to find some new clothes. First, he has her stand up against the door frame and marks her height on the wall with a pencil finding that she has, indeed, grown several centimeters since the last time they measured.

Shopping with his daughter proves to be part fun and part painful. Minseo is _very_ picky about what she likes and what she doesn’t like, but thankfully there are a number of stores that sell clothes in her size. They reward themselves for their hard work with smoothies from one of the kiosks in the food court and are heading for the door, when Minseo spies a mini indoor playground. She begs her father to let her play and Changmin promises her ten minutes. She hands him her smoothie and the bag in her hand and runs off. Changmin looks around for a place to sit and finds a bench nearby, strategically planted so parents can watch their kids run around on the play place. He sets the bags at his feet and finishes the rest of Minseo’s smoothie.

“Alright, go play!” he hears a familiar voice call. “And Hajoonie! Take care of your sister!” Changmin looks up to see Dr. Jung from the pediatrics unit that he and Minseo had visited earlier that month.

“Mind if I join you?” Dr. Jung asks, motioning to the other half of Changmin’s bench.

“Not at all,” Changmin replies. He scoots his shopping bags over so the doctor has room to sit. “I’m not sure if you remember me but…”

“Shim Changmin, right?” Dr. Jung says, sitting down next to him. “You had the little girl with strep throat.”

Changmin nods. “Yeah. Thankfully, the strep throat is gone so now I just have a little girl.”

Dr. Jung smiles. “Good to hear. What was her name again?”

“Minseo,” Changmin replies. He spots her climbing the stairs to the slide and points. “That’s her in the tutu and Twins jersey. Today was our first time going shopping in a while you see,” he says by way of explanation.

“I’m sure when I was that age, my parents let me get away with much more ridiculous outfits,” Dr. Jung says, dismissing any embarrassment Changmin might have had.

“Which kids are yours, Dr. Jung?” Changmin asks, looking back at the play area.

“You can just call me Yunho,” he says with a kind smile, and then points to a pair of children on a seesaw. “The girl is Haeun and the boy she’s playing with is Hajoon. We had planned on an outdoor outing today but with the weather changed our plans slightly.”

Changmin nods in agreement. He makes a few perfunctory comments about the weather before Yunho asks, “So, Changmin, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police,” he replies. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school so I decided to get my compulsory service out of the way. I did two years in the police unit before going back to university and then joining the force full time.”

“Ah,” Yunho says, nodding. “I know a few guys in the Seoul Police. Do you know Lee Donghae or Choi Siwon?”

“Yes!” Changmin exclaims in surprise. “They’re both in my unit. How do you know them?”

“We went to high school together,” Yunho replies. “Small world, huh?”

“Indeed,” Changmin replies. “I’ll have to tell them I met you. Twice,” he adds the last bit on with a grin. “You really do have a way with children. I was convinced there was no way you’d get Minseo to get her injection, but you did it.”

Yunho smiles sheepishly as his cheeks tinge with pink at the compliment. “I’ve spent a lot of time working with children,” he says.

“Oh I’m sure,” Changmin replies. “I mean you _are_ a pediatrician, not to mention coming home to these two,” he gestures towards where Haeun and Hajoon and found Minseo. The three kids are chasing each other around the play area, laughing with glee.

But Yunho’s smile falters a bit and he says, “They’re… they’re not mine actually. They’re my sister’s kids. I’m just babysitting for the day.”

“Ah,” Changmin replies, feeling awkward. He sneaks a glance at Yunho’s hand to confirm he isn’t wearing a wedding ring. Not that the presence of a ring means terribly much, he thinks to himself, fingering the ring still wears on his left hand. There’s an uncomfortable silence as Changmin turns to watch the kids playing. Minseo is counting to ten while the other two hide. He twists the ring around his finger and wonders if he’ll ever take it off.

 _Never_ , he thinks to himself, a pain searing through his heart. _I promised you forever._

“So, you married?” he hears Yunho ask. He turns away from the play area to see Yunho watch him fiddle with his ring.

“Yeah, I am,” Changmin replies automatically. “Well, I was. It’s…” he takes a deep breath. “My wife passed away a few months ago. Leukemia.”

“Oh,” Yunho replies with a soft voice. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah,” Changmin replies. For some reason, he keeps talking. “It was really sudden. We were trying for another kid and it just… wasn’t happening. So she went to the doctor and they ran some tests and then… The next month she was gone.”

“That must have been incredibly rough,” Yunho says. “I’m sure it still hurts a great deal.”

Changmin nods. He can’t believe he’s talking about this with someone he’s met twice, but there’s something about Yunho that seems inherently trustworthy. Maybe it had been watching him treat Minseo with such tenderness when she needed to get injections for strep throat. “It does,” he manages to say. “We got married right out of high school, and you can imagine our parents weren’t too thrilled about that. She waited for me while I was enlisted, and then we went through university together. Initially we had planned to have kids earlier but we lost a few pregnancies before Minseo was born.” He doesn’t know why he’s telling Yunho all of this but he doesn’t stop. “When we finally had Minseo, we were over the moon, but then…” he takes a deep breath. “It’s hard working full-time and taking care of a kid, but Minseo is my entire world. I’d do anything for her.”

“You’re a good dad,” Yunho says. “I remember seeing you in the examination room with her, protecting her from that inexperienced nurse. I’m sorry about that by the way—she’s been spoken to and it won’t happen again.”

“Much obliged,” Changmin murmurs. He takes a deep breath and says, “So what’s your story? Single? Married? Divorced?”

Yunho chuckles sadly. “I was engaged last year but she called it off. ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ and all that.”

“Ah,” Changmin replies. “Sorry to hear.”

Yunho shrugs. “It probably would’ve hurt less if she hadn’t been in bed with what would’ve been my best man at the time.”

“Ouch,” Changmin says. “What a way to end an engagement.”

“Right?” Yunho says. “So… After that I just threw myself into work and found better friends,” he says with a weak laugh. “That’s my tragic back story. Now I work at the pediatrics clinic as you know, but on the weekends I’m an on-call EMT with the city.”

“What division do you work with?” Changmin asks. “Sometimes we see the EMT’s on our cases. It’s never a good sign, unfortunately.”

They talk for a while longer about work before Minseo comes over and informs Changmin that she’s ready to go home.

“Okay,” Changmin says. “Minnie, can you say hi to Yun—Dr. Jung?”

She bows and says hello. Changmin worries for a moment that she’ll remember the traumatic night at the pediatrician’s office with the i-n-j-e-c-t-i-o-n, but his fears are allayed when she asks, “Is Miss Bunny doing okay?”

Yunho gives her a warm smile. “Yes,” he replies. “She asks about you and hopes that you’ve healed from your illness.”

Minseo grins happily. “You can tell her that I have!”

“Good,” Yunho replies. “She will be very happy to hear that.”

Changmin and Minseo gather up their bags and Minseo waves goodbye to Haeun and Haejoon who run over to where the adults are standing. Yunho introduces them to Changmin and they wave shyly, both hiding behind Yunho’s legs. “It was nice to meet you again,” Yunho says, reaching out to shake Changmin’s free hand.

“Likewise,” Changmin says. He turns to go but then turns back. “Hey if you ever want to get a beer… or something…” Changmin says, stumbling over his words.

“I’d like that,” Yunho replies. He gives Changmin a bright smile before Haeun and Hajoon pull him back towards the play area.

“Daddy, I made two friends today,” Minseo informs him. “Did you make a friend too?”

“Yeah, Minnie,” Changmin says. “I think I did.”

They walk towards the exit of mall and Changmin only half listens while Minseo tells him about the game that she made up with Yunho’s nephew and niece. He’s still not sure why he’d told Yunho about his wife—he usually saved that conversation for late nights after three bottles of wine—but now his heart feels a little lighter, as if the daily burden he carries is a bit more manageable.

Minseo skips alongside his long strides and squeezes his hand. He looks down at her with a smile and she gives him a big cheesy grin in return. “I love you, Daddy,” she says. And Changmin’s heart melts all over again.

**Author's Note:**

> I've officially decided to turn this into a whole series! I have the next scenario started, and hopefully can finish it soon :D


End file.
